Beth Hetland Archives - Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources

Manga | The 13th volume of Hajime Isayama’s hit dystopian fantasy Attack on Titan sold 1.4 million copies in Japan during its first week of release: 1.13 million copies of the regular edition, and 270,000 of a special edition that includes the original video animation. Kodansha ordered a 2.75 million-copy initial print run, a record not only for the series but for the publisher as well. The 66th volume of One Piece holds the record in Japan for highest sales in the first week with nearly 2.3 million copies. [Crunchyroll]

Publishing | Darren Davis of Bluewater Productions, talks about the evolution of his company and the origin story of its Female Force bio-comics line: “[W]e saw a comic book done of Barack Obama and John McCain during the 2008 elections, and my partner joked and said, ‘Why don’t we do Hillary?’ And I thought, oh my God, that’s a brilliant idea.So I thought, let’s do this, but let’s do it differently. Let’s not do it like everyone else, with a boring biography. We did it with a female empowerment angle. We released Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin at the same time, and whether you like Sarah Palin or hate Hillary Clinton, you have to respect both of them for where they came from and who they are.” [The Beaverton Leader]

If you’re looking for an unusual handcrafted gift, minicomics and original prints are a good way to go. Many of them are beautifully produced, with unusual printing effects such as risography and die cuts, and they contain stories you can’t find anywhere else. As a bonus, the minicomics creator you support today may turn out to be the art-comix superstar of tomorrow, and you’ll be able to say you were one of the first to recognize their genius.

Here are six up-and-coming creators who are offering some very attractive mini-comics, prints, and other goods. You can get a lot of these things on Amazon and other mass-merchant sites, but the links here are to the creators’ own stores so you can support them directly with your Cyber Monday dollars.

Sarah Becan: You might know Becan from her foodie webcomic I Think You’re Sauceome, which recorded not just the amazing meals Becan ate but her mixed feelings about food and her body image. It’s a thoughtful read as well as an entertaining one. Her food posters, on themes like Sausages of the World and How to Poach an Egg, would make a colorful addition to anyone’s kitchen decor. Becan is also the creator of Shuteye, a comic about dreams nested inside of dreams, and The Complete Ouija Interviews, a minicomic (supported by a Xeric grant) based on “interviews” done via a Ouija board. “Printed in rich brown inks, assembled in a beautiful little perfect-bound volume, with a debossed feltweave cover,” this 192-page volume is an amazing deal for $10.

Nominees in each category were chosen by a panel of judges consisting of comics industry professionals, journalists and retailers, and then voted on by the comics-reading public. This year’s winners are:

Best Artist
Jonathan Case, Green River Killer

Best Writer
Brandon Graham, Prophet

Best Cartoonist
Jaime Hernandez, Love and Rockets

Best Letterer
Stan Sakai, Usagi Yojimbo: Fox Hunt

Best Colorist
Dave Stewart, Hellboy: House of the Living Dead; Chimichanga